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Table of Contents Home ................................................................................................................................................ 2

About ................................................................................................................................................ 5

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Meet the Team ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

Programme Support Partners ................................................................................................................................ 8

Contact Us ............................................................................................................................................................... 9

FAQs ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10

What We Do .................................................................................................................................... 13

Programme Logic ................................................................................................................................................... 13

Defining Partnership ......................................................................................................................................... 14

Supporting Health and Agricultural Outcomes ............................................................................................ 16

Your Journey: South Asian/African Enterprises ........................................................................................ 17

Your Journey: Indian Enterprise .................................................................................................................... 18

Eligibility .......................................................................................................................................... 19

Indian Enterprises ............................................................................................................................................. 19

South Asian / African Enterprises ................................................................................................................ 21

Resources ........................................................................................................................................ 23

Publications and tools ..................................................................................................................................... 23

Database of financial and technical support ............................................................................................ 24

Partnership ventures........................................................................................................................ 25

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Home Page

NEW: Online searchable database of 200+ organisations that provide financial and technical support to

SMES

Connect to Grow is a first-of-its kind enterprise matchmaking initiative,

designed to help ambitious enterprises grow!

It does this by creating partnerships between Indian enterprises and enterprises across South Asia and

Africa, to improve people’s health and agricultural prospects.

Connect Collaborate Grow

We match enterprises in

India with enterprises in sub-

Saharan Africa and South

Asia for profitable and

socially beneficial

partnerships

We help partnerships to

develop their proposition,

agree a suitable partnership

agreement and implement a

well designed partnership

venture

We support partners in

accessing finance and

creating a plan to scale the

venture. In turn, both

enterprises grow through

partnership resulting in

increased profitability and

social impact

Your Journey as an Indian enterprise with

Connect

Your Journey as a South Asian/African enterprise

with Connect

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How does it work?

I am an Indian enterprise,

with a proven innovation,

looking to enter new markets

I am a South Asian or African enterprise

with an established market, interested in adopting a proven innovation

Am I Eligible?

I am an Indian enterprise, with a proven innovation,

looking to enter new markets Am I Eligible?

The registration phase of Connect to Grow is now complete.

The programme has reached the full quota of businesses

it can support and is, therefore, no longer accepting new

enterprises on the programme. If you would still like to

browse our enterprise marketplace and connect with

registered enterprises, then click here.

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Supported By Partners

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Implementation

Partners

Email Address *

First Name Last Name

subscribe

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About

Meet the Team Connect to Grow is implemented by international development consultancy IMC Worldwide in partnership with Ashley Insight and Innovation Alchemy. The Connect to Grow team has a wealth of experience working with social enterprise and social innovators, brokering partnerships and running private sector development programmes. The team has a local presence in India, Africa and the United Kingdo

David Irwin

Team Leader

David has a background in supporting new and growing businesses. In 1980, he co-founded Project North East (PNE), one of the UK’s leading enterprise and economic development agencies, and was its chief executive for 20 years. From early 2000 till 2002, he was Chief Executive of the UK Government’s Small Business Service, an executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, with responsibility for managing all of the UK Government’s small business support programmes and a role as the “strong voice for small business at the heart of Government”. He is now a consultant in enterprise and economic development working with clients such as DANIDA, Department for International Development, International Labour Organisation, International Trade Centre and Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. David is based in the UK.

Baiju Vaidya

Deputy Team Leader

Baiju Vaidya is a Senior Consultant at IMC Worldwide and Deputy Team Leader for Connect to Grow (Connect). Baiju is an expert in enterprise support and innovation promotion, with a wide range of skills acquired through working with MSMEs, corporates, NGOs, and government. Baiju has over 8 years’ experience working for both non-profit

and for-profit sectors, with strong expertise in programme

management, finance mechanisms, corporate governance,

corporate responsibility, MSME development and innovation

promotion. Baiju has worked on programme design,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation including on DFID’s

Ideas to Impact and the World Bank’s Development

Marketplace. Baiju previously worked with at a think tank

supporting corporates in becoming more responsible businesses,

and with the Red Cross in leading on a results-based financing

initiative. He has worked across Africa and Asia. Baiju is based in

the UK.

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Daniel Idowu

Partnership Manager, Comms associate

Daniel is a Partnership Manager for Connect and leads the programme’s communication with enterprises Daniel has 10 years of professional experience, including:

enterprise promotion, diagnostic and development, facilitating

communications and learning and adaptive program

management. Daniel work’s for IMC’s Inclusive Growth team. His

work centers on supporting entrepreneurs to start, grow and

develop their businesses. Specifically, he focuses on enabling

early stage entrepreneurs to develop products and services

using lean-start up and high growth models. Prior to joining IMC,

Daniel worked for Solve, where he supported and managed

enterprises under their £4 million-pound program designed to

accelerate social ventures. Daniel is based in the UK.

Graham Smith

Programme Manager

As Programme Manager, Graham is involved in coordination and administration, managing contracts, finances, budget and grant spend. Read less He is a Senior Consultant in IMC Worldwide’s Project

Management Unit, where he is the project manager of

Connect and Climate Change Compass. He has significant

experience in operations and programme transformation across a

number of geographies and transited into the humanitarian and

international development sector in 2011. He is a PRINCE2

Practitioner certified project manager. Graham has significant

delivery expertise having led the operations for, among other

projects, the installation of a water supply network whilst living in

an insecure, highly complex and rapidly changing environment,

South Sudan. Graham is based in the UK.

Caroline Ashley

Knowledge Management And Results Lead

As Results Director on Connect to Grow Caroline is responsible for the overall tracking and reporting of progress, and for the lesson-learning and exchange component Read less Caroline’s expertise is in business models that deliver both social

and commercial return, and the measurement of that impact.

Caroline has worked with challenge funds, impact investors, social

enterprises, MNCs and donors on the contribution that business

can to international development. She has lived and worked in

Africa and Asia, and is also Editor of the Practitioner Hub for

Inclusive Business. Caroline is based in Twickenham, UK.

Nada Ibrahim

Programme Support, Partnership Manager

Nada supports the programme by coordinating with intermediaries and outreaching to enterprises. Her overall development experience includes working on

institutional policy assessments as well as inclusive

development. Nada’s prior experience involved co-founding a

social enterprise focusing on the trade of ethically sourced,

organic agricultural commodities such as gum Arabic, sesame

seeds and hibiscus. She has also worked for the World Bank in

Sudan across 2 projects where she conducted policy research on

the effects of sector reforms in improving producer livelihoods

and supported M&E operations. Nada is based in the UK.

Carolin Schramm

Monitoring & Evaluation Manager, Partnership Manager

Carolin manages the programme’s results and reporting activities and is also a Partnership Manager on the programme. Carolin has ten years experience working in international

development. Before joining Ashley Insight, she worked at the

Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the German

Development Agency (GIZ) and PwC’s international development

team where she managed multi-year international donor

programmes. Carolin’s specialist technical areas include design

and implementation of monitoring & evaluation frameworks,

inclusive business model appraisal and roll out of learning and

communication strategies. She has worked in various developing

countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, India,

Bangladesh and Peru. Carolin is based in Nairobi, Kenya

Lara Sinha

Knowledge and Learning Manager

Lara manages and coordinates the knowledge creation and dissemination activities of Connect to Grow. She also manages the programme’s website and marketplace. As

an Associate with Ashley Insight, Lara is also the Manager of the

Practitioner Hub for Inclusive Business where she engages in the

daily practicalities of inclusive business by developing and curating

resources for practitioners. Lara’s core areas of expertise are in

knowledge creation and management, communications and

research in the inclusive business space. Previously, she has

undertaken a number of research projects as part of the Ashley

Insight team. Most notably, she was the finance sector lead on a

2015 project identifying business model innovations for the World

Bank Innovations team and the Research Manager and Co-Author

of the 2014 Business Call to Action Flagship Report. Lara is based

in Mumbai, India.

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Anne Salter

Programme Support, Online Associate

Anne manages and coordinates the social media strategy for Connect to Grow. As an Associate with Ashley Insight, Anne is also the Marketing Co-ordinator of the Practitioner Hub for Inclusive Business where she engages in the daily practicalities of inclusive business by developing and curating resources for practitioners. Anne’s core areas of expertise are in knowledge creation and management, communications and research in the inclusive business space. Previously, she has undertaken a number of research projects as part of the Ashley Insight team with clients including the World Bank Innovations team, Business Call to Action and the Global Innovation Fund. Anne has previously worked with the Federation of Social Organisations in Costa Rica, Ashoka Mexico and Social Enterprise UK.

Parvathi Menon

India Delivery Lead

Parvathi is Managing Director, Innovation Alchemy Consulting, and the India Delivery Lead for the Connect to Grow programme. Read less She has extensive experience in working with entrepreneurs,

social innovators and the social enterprise ecosystem in India and

the sub-continent region. Under her leadership Innovation

Alchemy has led the design & delivery of large scale innovation

facilitation programs such as the India Development Marketplace

for the World Bank; the Marico Innovation Foundation Social

Innovation program and the Innovation Capacity Building

program for Municipal Leaders in India in collaboration with

Bloomberg Philanthropies, Smart Cities Competition

Gautam Shivaswamy

Deputy Lead India Delivery

Gautam Shivaswamy is a Senior Project Manager at Innovation Alchemy and is the Deputy India Delivery for the Connect to Grow programme. Read less He has implemented evaluation and facilitation processes for

Innovation Alchemy’s acceleration programme, working across

diverse sectors including agri-produce & processing, healthcare,

waste management, livelihoods, urban planning and technology

entrepreneurship. For Connect to Grow he leads the India

Research to identify relevant business models & enterprises in

Agri & Healthcare, to be connected to African and South Asian

demand.

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Programme Support Partners The Connect to Grow team works with numerous partners in Africa and South Asia that support the programme with on-ground outreach and promotion activities. These partners have vast, in-country experience and networks and will be called upon to provide technical assistance to enterprises and partnerships facilitated by Connect, depending on their area of expertise.

dkompany is a specialised economic consultancy providing strategic advisory services in the field of trade, investment and development, as well as law, regulation and compliance.

Ejo Partners is a small consultancy that provides tailored solutions to organizations and entrepreneurs who want to grow businesses. In addition we strive to provide our customers with support in creating their own network of entrepreneurs and investors.

Romis is a Firm of Integrated Management, Investment, Training, Industrial and Economic/ Social Survey Consultancy with over 20 years of experience. They have a large base Clientele that include Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Large Enterprises (LEs), Federal Government Agencies, State Governments and International Donor Agencies like UNDP – Nigeria and The World Bank.

TGT act as a catalyst for SME and farmer development. They provide a range of support services including online mentoring using international mentors particularly for women entrepreneurs on a Cherie Blair funded programme. They link enterprises with mentors and financiers and have a virtual incubator called Mkubwa.

BSpace is the premier Social Enterprise in Uganda founded with sole mission of accelerating inclusive business in Uganda. BSpace was founded in 2013 by development partners SNV, BoP Inc and Oxfam Novib. Although BSpace sources for paid-for services to guarantee its long term sustainability, It was set up with a not- for-profit motive and is registered as a company limited by guarantee and as such does not pay out dividends to its shareholders. All profits are re-invested in the company. Recent and current partners and clients include SEED Initiative, European Union, UNEP, ICCO, Enviu, World Bank/DI international, MVO Nederland, CSR Netherlands, GOAL, Endeva, TASLAF, and Aspen Network of Development and Entrepreneurs.

The Project Development Objective for the PACT is to improve the competitiveness of project supported smallholder farmers and agribusinesses within selected commodity value chains. The project intends to achieve the PDO by assisting agro-enterprises, commodity associations, cooperatives and registered farmer groups with integrating emerging and competitive commodity value chains. The PACT uses competitive matching grants as a core instrument to achieve this goal by co-financing beneficiaries’ innovative proposals.

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SIX AFRICA is registered as non-profit organization based in Dakar (Senegal).They are the first regional platform connecting investors, entrepreneurs, project developers and funds to raise capital and catalyze the creation and development of ventures (for profits as well as non-profits) that have demonstrable social and environmental impact.

Synergy Social Ventures is a non-profit organization supporting entrepreneurial solutions to global problems. Synergy’s primary activities include: providing high touch advisory services and philanthropic investment for early stage social ventures, educating new philanthropists about new philanthropic and investment tools through giving circles and advisory services, developing a stronger support ecosystem for social ventures in Asia and building connections between Asian and global actors in the philanthropic and social venture sectors.

AGRIinsight is an online web-based platform for the agribusinesses sector. AGRIinsight brings together multiple sources of information, translates them into rich, relevant, geo-visual representations that brings fresh insights. Using the various tools made available users can develop and communicate with networks of supply chain partners. They can also store private operational and monitoring information and visualise this in the context of other publicly available information such as infrastructure, soil and climatic conditions.

The Consortium for Enhancing University Responsiveness to Agribusiness Development limited (CURAD) is one of the six agribusiness incubators in Africa supported by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) under the UniBRAIN facility with funding from DANIDA. It is a non-profit geared towards starting and supporting profit oriented youth and women led agribusinesses. CURAD was voted the leading incubator among the 6 started and supported by the Danish foreign office in Africa by the African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN).

AfriLabs is a Pan-African network of 40 technology innovation hubs in 20 African countries. Founded in 2011, AfriLabs works to build a community around tech hubs in Africa and an innovation infrastructure that will encourage the growth of Africa’s knowledge economy by supporting the development of start-ups, technology, and innovation.

Antarprerana is a private company that supports Nepali entrepreneurs, who are looking for investment and mentorship. The entrepreneurs that Antarprerana supports are from different stages of business cycle, namely Start-up, Growth and Change-management. Antarprerana also assists Nepali Diaspora who wants to come back to the country and do business.

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Contact Us

Contact the Connect team at info@connecttogrow.org

Subscribe to our Newsletter

FAQs

About Connect to Grow - Q. What is Connect to Grow ? Connect to Grow is a programme that has been designed to support inclusive enterprises to build mutually beneficial and commercially viable partnerships which promote the spread of proven innovation from India to South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, to improve people’s health and agriculture prospects. Connect matches enterprises in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa which already have a market and are looking to grow by innovating, with enterprises in India who have a proven innovation and want to expand into new markets. The match-making takes place once enterprises have registered on the Connect marketplace. Read more about the programme here.

Q. What support is offered to enterprises? A range of support is accessible to suitable enterprises that

register on the Connect marketplace:

• An online marketplace with access to a wide range of suitable and trusted potential partners.

• Travel grants to allow potential partners to meet.

• Tailored advice, guidance and support in brokering a range of different partnership

arrangements (be it a licensing agreement, franchise, joint venture or other).

• Technical assistance and grant funding towards the cost of implementing a pilot venture.

• Advice, guidance and support to raise money to scale up successful pilot ventures.

• Opportunity to link with a range of private or public sector intermediaries who may boost the

partnership’s prospects.

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• Opportunities for wider promotion and marketing.

Q. How is support offered to enterprises? Enterprises that sign up and complete their profile details on

the Connect marketplace will be reviewed by the programme team and, if suitable, will be matched with

enterprises that could be potential partners. The team will facilitate communication between potential

partners and will guide them along the partnership process.

Q. Who funds Connect to Grow? Connect to Grow is funded by the UK’s Department for International

Development.

Q. Who manages the programme? The programme is managed by IMC Worldwide. Key implementing

partners include Innovation Alchemy and Ashley Insight. The Practitioner Hub for Inclusive Business is

the knowledge and website partner for the programme.

-Eligibility Q. Which types of enterprise can register for Connect? Enterprises that register for Connect can be for-

profit, not-for-profit, hybrid and NGO models. While enterprises do not necessarily need to be

commercially viable, the partnership project that they set up through Connect will have to be.

Enterprises will need to demonstrate that they are sufficiently entrepreneurial, ambitious and proactive

to creative a commercially viable partnership venture.

Q. Which sectors are applicable for the Connect to Grow? As the partnership ventures set up through

Connect must have potential to contribute towards improving the health, nutrition or agricultural

productivity of poor people in South Asia and Africa, the programme will largely focus on enterprises

directly operating in the Health and Agri-food sectors. However, enterprises from any sector are eligible

as long as the partnership venture satisfies the aforementioned criteria.

Q. Which countries are applicable? Connect will help facilitate partnerships between enterprises in India

and those in a number of countries in South Asia and Africa. A full list of the applicable countries in

South Asia and Africa is available here. Indian enterprises need to have their headquarters in India while

South Asian/African enterprises need to have their headquarters in one of the countries in the list but

can operate in other countries as well.

-Registration process

PLEASE NOTE: The registration for Connect to Grow is now closed. The programme has reached the full quota of businesses it can support and is, therefore, no longer accepting new enterprises on the programme. If you would still like to browse our enterprise marketplace and connect with registered enterprises, then click here.

Q. How do I register my enterprise for the Connect to Grow programme? Please sign up and complete the registration form on the Connect marketplace. Please make sure you fill in at least all mandatory fields (those marked with a *) and click the Submit button at the end of the form.

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Q. How do I make sure the Connect team has my details? You need to ensure that you click the Submit button at the end of the registration form. Please ensure you provide the correct contact details in your form so that the Connect team can follow up on your registration.

Q. Can I add more information to my profile at a later date? Yes. Once you click the Submit button, your details will be saved and you will be able to log back in to the marketplace at any time to amend or add more information. Please remember that every time you make a change or addition you will need to click the Submit button.

Q. What happens once I have registered? Once you have submitted your registration information, your details will go into the Connect database where the programme team will review the information. A member of the team will contact you soon to go through your registration and discuss next steps.

Q. Can I contact potential partners directly through the marketplace? You can. If you are interested in speaking directly to any of the enterprises whose profiles you see on the marketplace, all you need to do is click on the ‘Connect with this enterprise’ button in their profiles and send them a message. They will receive your message and email address, and will reply directly to your email if they are interested in connecting. Please note, any connections you make directly are independent of the Connect to Grow programme. However, if there is partnership potential after the initial connection, Connect may be able to provide support so do keep in touch with any developments!

-Partnership process Q. What sort of partnerships does Connect help facilitate? Connect will support all partnerships that

plan to add value in some way in the African or South Asian country. This could mean that some

manufacturing takes place or a service is delivered in such a way that new jobs are created. The

partnership could be a franchise, or governed by a Memorandum of Understanding, or a technology

licensing arrangement or a Joint Venture.

Q. How are partners matched? Partners are matched first on the basis of the need identified by the

African or South Asian business and the potential of an Indian innovation to address that need, secondly

on the type of market sought by the Indian enterprise and the extent to which the African or South

Asian enterprise is in that market and then thirdly on the basis of the skill and resource needs of the

African or South Asian business and the ability of the Indian enterprise to fulfil those needs

Q. How will partnerships be selected for the travel grant? Once an enterprise has registered, we will

appoint a partnership manager. The partnership manager will work with the enterprise to refine their

ideas, to select a potential partner and to initiate a discussion. As soon as it appears that there is a need

to meet, the partnership manager will make a recommendation that a travel grant be awarded.

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Q. How will partnerships be selected for further grant funding? Once enterprises have met, and had a

chance to explore what they might do together and how, they will be able to start preparing a pilot

venture plan and a partnership agreement, with advice and guidance from the partnership manager and

if necessary external advisers. As soon as the plan is complete, it can be submitted, with a short

application form, to seek a grant towards the costs of implementing a pilot venture and to secure

further technical assistance.

Q. What sort of technical assistance will the programme provide partnerships? Technical assistance

could cover any area of the business activity. It will not generally provide people to do things for the

business but rather to offer advice and support. It could for example cover the need for ensuring that

the business meets the regulatory requirements, or preparing and implementing a marketing plan, or

legal advice in relation to finalizing the partnership agreement

Q. How much funding will successful partnerships receive? A travel grant will be up to $2,500. A grant

for a pilot venture will be up to $50,000. In both cases, the less that is sought and the higher the

contribution from the venture, the greater the likelihood that we will be able to provide support.

Technical assistance could be worth several thousand dollars more.

What We DO

Programme Logic

The Challenge

Enterprises, particularly SMEs, are key drivers of economic growth and job creation, and form a large part of the innovation landscape in developing economies. Yet many enterprises lack the time and resources to innovate and grow—be it developing their product or service, or improving their business model. Innovation could help them grow considerably, yet many see innovation and exploring new growth opportunities as too risky with their limited resources. There are also enterprises, which have a proven innovation and are looking to grow by expanding into new markets, but face challenges and risks in so doing. These challenges include finding new customers, understanding different markets, having local knowledge and building local networks. Spreading innovation by supporting the growth of inclusive enterprises, i.e. those which integrate or address the needs of the poor, can lead to both economic and social impact. Impact may result from cheaper or better products or services, pro-poor job creation, increased incomes or better access to markets.

The Opportunity

India has a flourishing landscape of inclusive enterprises which have a proven track record of developing innovations which address the wider development challenges of the country. There are developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia that face similar challenges to India, and which local enterprises are aiming to address. There is potential to create partnerships between inclusive

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enterprises India and developing countries which overcome the barriers both face to growth. The result would be faster and more sustainable growth than either could achieve on their own. Connect to Grow has been designed to support inclusive enterprise to grow by building mutually beneficial partnerships which diffuse proven innovation from India and promote innovation in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Programme

Connect supports the creation of sustainable partnerships between enterprises in India and enterprises in developing countries across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, within the Health and Agriculture sectors. It helps Indian enterprises that are looking to enter new markets partner with enterprises in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa that are seeking proven innovations to grow their business. The programme provides a range of support services to develop potential partnerships including funding and technical assistance.

Defining Partnership What do we mean by partnership?

By partnership, we mean a long-term collaboration, whereby two (or more) partners design and implement a venture together. Whilst partnerships will evolve over time, an interest to pursue a long-term, commercial partnership needs to be present early on, when Connect to Grow commits its support.

Principles of partnership

• There is a shared goal and shared objectives. Both partners have a mutual interest in the venture succeeding. This might be to exploit the market potential for a specific product or service, or adapt products or services to meet the needs of new or existing customers.

• The relationship is expected to be collaborative rather than transactional. This means that the partnership will involve more than just buying and selling the product or service of an Indian partner. So the purchase of new equipment with no other engagement is unlikely to count. Similarly, repeat transactions of items for resale, especially where the Indian partner takes no risk, would be unlikely to count. Ideally, there should be value addition in the target country. Furthermore, collaboration implies the partners will work together to set the direction and targets.

• There must be a continuing contribution from both partners. The contribution could come in the form of knowledge (e.g. about the buying habits of particular markets), expertise (e.g. about the most cost effective way to manufacture a specified product or the delivery of a particular service or an innovation) or resources (e.g. people, money, technology, equipment). If one partner expects to be paid on a commercial basis for their technical assistance or know-how, this is unlikely to count. We recognise that partnerships may not endure for ever, but there is an expectation that the relationship will be long-term.

• The partners share in the rewards: if the activity flourishes, then both partners benefit. This can be structured in many ways and may include financial and non-financial benefits (such as brand or reputation). It is likely, however, that the benefits will be directly related to the level of sales (though may be tempered by the level of contribution).

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• The partners share in the risks: a key reason to work in partnership is to reduce risk, but no business activity is entirely risk free. Ideally, the level of risk is clear at the outset and will usually not exceed the committed investment of time and resource, but sharing the risk will align the partners in seeking success. This risk might be financial or non-financial (such as brand or reputation).

•

What forms can partnerships take?

Connect to Grow does not prescribe specific organisational or legal forms for partnerships. But the

following types of partnerships can be useful to consider. Below are examples of partnership structures

that Connect could support:

It is important to note that in most cases, the form that the partnership will take between two enterprises will only become clear once significant interaction has taken place between the possible partners and the Connect team. The Connect team will help enterprises come to the most suitable partnership agreement.

More information Read the partnership considerations on the Indian and South Asian/African eligibility pages for more information about the partnerships Connect can support. Read this Checklist to learn more about developing a mutually beneficial partnering agreement. Find out more about how Connect Partnerships work in our video ‘Two hands are better than one’

Type of partnership Example

Franchise African company dealing in FMCG sets up as a franchisee of an Indian FMCG company, selling its product and meeting its other brand norms (and pays franchisor)

Licensing arrangement African company seeking a system innovation (such as warehouse receipting, low-cost eye surgery) sets up and uses the innovation of an Indian company, paying a royalty for doing so

Distribution partnership African company providing consumer durables or manufacturing equipment for sale partners with an Indian company to develop the product or market together for long-term expansion with the Indian company as the supplier, African company as distributor, and both investing for return (share of revenue is agreed based on input of effort and risk

Joint Venture African company seeking innovation in a manufacturing process jointly sets up a new business with an Indian company that deploys the Indian company’s process

Investment Indian company that manufactures machinery, takes an equity stake in an African company which then uses the Indian company’s machinery

Strategic alliance African agribusiness agrees jointly with an Indian agribusiness to develop new seed varieties for the African market, with an agreed cost and revenue sharing formula.

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Supporting Health and Agricultural Outcomes While Connect to Grow works with enterprises in any sector, the programme only facilitates and supports partnerships that will deliver health or agricultural outcomes. I.e the partnership needs to have a beneficial impact in the health or agricultural sectors even if the partnering enterprises don’t operate directly in those sectors. A host of different approaches exist that deliver outcomes in agriculture and health. Some of these models are listed below.

AGRICULTURE

• Access to inputs: provision of quality inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and crop protection products can increase quality and productivity of yield.

• Access to finance: provision of loans to smallholders can provide capital for farmers to buy inputs and other requirements to increase productivity. Agri-insurance provides protection against unforeseen losses.

• Contract farming: contracting farmers directly can ensure security and fair pricing for farmers, leading to increased income.

• IT & mobile enabled solutions: provision of agri-information about weather, market prices, best practices etc. through mobile and internet platforms can provide vital inputs to farmers that increase yield and productivity

• Market creation and intermediation: improving market access to farmers by consolidating them into producer organisations, acting as aggregators etc can provide security and fair pricing.

• Post harvest collection, storage and logistics solutions: provision of post harvest services such as central collection centres, cold storage facilities, transportation services.

• Promotion of organic and sustainable farming: provision of technical assistance and training on sustainable and organic practices.

• Standards and certification: provision of organic and fair trade certification may open up premium markets for farmers

• Technical assistance and training: provision of training that enables farmers to improve farm management and operations.

• Value chain integration: provision of ‘one stop shop’ solutions to farmers across the entire value chain.

HEALTH

• Specialized healthcare: provision of highly specialised medical care that is often far out of reach for poor people. These includes clinics providing eye-care, dentisty, dialysis etc

• mHealth and telemedicine: provision of health services and information via mobile technology improving the health outcomes of any person with access to a mobile device. This could be through SMS or web applications or over voice based services through phone calls.

• Women’s Health: provision of quality reproductive health services to poor women including family planning, STI treatment, safe abortion and post abortion care etc.

• Microinsurance: provision of affordable health insurance to poor people allowing protection against steep out of pocket medical expenses.

• Nutrition products: provision of nutritious products to poor people through food fortification, specially formulated food for infants, pregnant women etc.

• Sanitation services: provision of sanitation services and products such as low-cost toilet facilities, sanitary napkins, hygiene products for poor people.

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• Clean cook-stoves: provision of clean cook stoves and clean energy to replace traditional wood-fired stoves, reducing incidences of indoor smoke inhalation and respiratory disease. view some examples of enterprises that Connect is working with to deliver health or agricultural outcomes through partnership.

Your Journey: South Asian/African Enterprises

This infographic details the journey your enterprise will take when you join Connect to Grow

After meeting your potential partner and you both feel like you want to continue to your business

relationship, the collaboration phase can begin

PLEASE NOTE: The registration phase of Connect to Grow is now complete. The programme has reached the full quota of businesses it can support and is, therefore, no longer accepting new enterprises on the programme. if you would still like to browse our enterprise marketplace and connect with registered enterprises, then click here.

Your Journey: Indian Enterprise

The infographic below details the journey your enterprise will take when they join Connect to Grow.

After meeting your partner the Collaboration Phase can begin.

PLEASE NOTE: The registration phase of Connect to Grow is now complete. The programme has reached the full quota of businesses it can support and is, therefore, no longer accepting new enterprises on the programme. if you would still like to browse our enterprise marketplace and connect with registered enterprises

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Eligibility

Indian Enterprises

To be eligible for this programme you must fit the below criteria.

• You are a for profit, not for profit or social enterprise based in India. You may be private or state-owned.

• You have a proven innovation, whether it be a technology, product, service, or approach.

• You may operate in any sector. However, please note the programme will only support partnership ventures which relate to health or agriculture in some way.

• You are keen to expand into international markets in South Asia or Africa. See list of applicable countries here.

• You are interested in scoping out enterprises in South Asia or Africa with whom you can explore mutually beneficial partnerships.

• You are interested in pursuing a profitable and socially beneficial partnership venture. (Visit our defining partnership page to see what we mean by the term ‘partnership’.)

• You are a well-managed and ambitious enterprise that can make a difference to the lives of the poor.

• You must be willing to invest some of your time and resources into making your partnership a success.

• You are a fully competent English speaker.

• You have internet connectivity and access to email services.

If you meet these criteria, then Connect to Grow is right for you!

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR JOURNEY COULD LOOK LIKE WITH CONNECT TO GROW

Why do you need a partner?

• You may lack an existing market and customer base in the country into which you are looking to expand.

• You may lack the local context and knowledge, be it regulatory, legislative, cultural or other, successfully to expand internationally.

• You may lack the time or resources to expand internationally, or may find the prospect of doing so too high risk.

How will the Programme support you?

• Access to a range of potential South Asian and African enterprises who are keen to explore partnership with you.

• Dedicated one-to-one support from the Connect team to help you find and build a relationship with a prospective partner.

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• Travel grants of up to US$2,500 to allow potential partners to meet with you.

• Tailored advice, guidance and support to develop a relationship and your proposition together.

• Tailored advice, guidance and support to broker an appropriate partnership arrangement (be it a licensing agreement, franchise, joint venture or other).

• Technical assistance and financial support up to US$50,000 towards the cost of implementing a pilot venture in the South Asian or sub-Saharan African country.

• Advice, guidance and support to raise money to scale up successful pilot ventures.

• Opportunity to link with a range of intermediaries who may boost the partnership’s prospects (from foundations, government, investors, associations, NGOs, Multi-Nationals, or other).

• Opportunities for wider promotion and marketing..

Key partnership considerations

• Proposals must be for formal, mutually beneficial partnerships where the Indian Enterprise will add value and promote innovation, and the South Asian or African enterprise will bring local expertise and market knowledge.

• Connect to Grow will not support proposals for partnerships which are simply designed for the Indian Enterprise to set up their own operations in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa.

• Enterprises must be ambitious, entrepreneurial and well-managed, with some available resource to invest in developing a partnership.

• Partners must be aiming to set up a venture together in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa which is designed to be commercially viable, that is, not reliant on grant funding.

• Enterprises may be from any sector, but partnership proposals must justify how they improve people’s health or agri-food prospects, particularly the poor.

• Proven innovation from India must be diffused to the enterprise in South Asia or Africa. PLEASE NOTE: The registration phase of Connect to Grow is now complete. The programme has reached the full quota of businesses it can support and is, therefore, no longer accepting new enterprises on the programme. if you would still like to browse our enterprise marketplace and connect with registered enterprises

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South Asian / African Enterprises

To be eligible for this programme you must fit the below criteria.

• You are based in Asia or Africa. See list of applicable countries here. • You are a growing enterprise (Preferably, you have been in operation for at least 1 year, and have

at least 4 members of staff).

• You are well-managed and ambitious, with an established market and an existing customer base.

• You are articulate and clearly able to explain your business model, your market, and your revenue streams.

• You might be for-profit or not-for-profit, but you must be socially motivated.

• You are interested in scoping out proven innovation from India which can be adopted or adapted to your context. This may be a technology, a product, service or an approach.

• You are interested in pursuing a commercially viable and socially beneficial partnership venture with an Indian enterprise. (Visit our defining partnership page to see what we mean by the term ‘partnership’.)

• You may operate in any sector. But the partnership venture must directly contribute towards improvements to people’s health or agricultural prospects.

• You are willing to drive the partnership forwards and invest the time and resources required to make it a success.

• You are a fully competent English speaker.

• You have internet connectivity and access to email services. If you meet these criteria, then Connect to Grow is right for you!

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR JOURNEY COULD LOOK LIKE WITH CONNECT TO GROW

Why do you need a partner?

• You may lack the time, resources or knowledge to exploit opportunities and fill gaps which could help you grow

• You may lack the knowledge of existing innovations, be they products, services or business models which could be adapted to your situation.

• You may lack expertise or resource to innovate and pilot by yourself, or you may find the prospect of doing so too high risk.

How will the Programme support you?

• Direct support from the Connect team to fully define your needs and opportunities for growth.

• Access to a range of suitable innovation and Indian enterprises who are keen to explore partnership with you.

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• Travel grants of up to US$2,500 to allow you to visit potential partners in India.

• Dedicated one-to-one support to find and build a relationship with a prospective partner.

• Tailored advice, guidance and support to broker an appropriate partnership arrangement (be it a licensing agreement, franchise, joint venture or other).

• Technical assistance and financial support up to US$50,000 towards the cost of implementing a pilot venture in the South Asian or sub-Saharan African country.

• Advice, guidance and support to raise money to scale up successful pilot ventures.

• Opportunity to link with a range of intermediaries who may boost the partnership’s prospects (from foundations, government, investors, associations, NGOs, Multi-Nationals, or other).

• Opportunities for wider promotion and marketing..

Key partnership considerations • Proposal must be for formal, mutually beneficial partnerships where the Indian Enterprise will add

value and promote innovation, and the South Asian or African enterprise will bring local expertise and market knowledge.

• Connect to Grow will not support proposals for partnerships which are simply designed for the Indian Enterprise to set up their own operations in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa.

• Enterprises must be ambitious, entrepreneurial and well-managed, with some available resource to invest in developing a partnership.

• Partners must be aiming to set up a venture together in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa which is designed to be commercially viable, that is, not reliant on grant funding.

• Enterprises may be from any sector, but partnership proposals must justify how they improve people’s health or agricultural prospects, particularly the poor.

• Proven innovation from India must be diffused to the enterprise in south Asia or Africa.

Resources

Publications and tools

Programme learning

• Lessons from supporting African and south Asian enterprises to grow through partnership and innovation: this learning ‘snapshot’ shares lessons learnt and insights gathered midway through the Connect to Grow programme. It shares interim lessons on the types of enterprises that have applied for support, what innovation and partnership means for these enterprises and how the programme mechanisms have supported the process.

• Supporting SME growth through innovation and partnership – a review

of the landscape: this report provides a baseline for what is currently known about the role of innovation and partnership in SME growth and draws on analysis of 70 different initiatives that offer support to SMEs to provide a comprehensive picture of the current approaches, trends and gaps in this space.

Looking for financial and

technical support for your

business?

Search the online database of more than 250 support organisations to find the right support for your business. The database has been developed by Connect to Grow and partners.

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Value chain innovation in India:

• Cassava Cultivation • Fisheries Value Chain • Banana Value Chain • Poultry Value Chain

Introducing the programme:

• Programme Introduction • The Connect flyer for South Asian and African Enterprises • The Connect flyer for Indian Enterprises • Podcast: Connect Team Leads David Irwin and Baiju Vaidya talk to IMC about the key objectives of

the programme

Looking for financial and technical support for your business?

Search the online database of more than 250 support organisations to find the right support for your business. The database has been developed by Connect to Grow and partners. Want to scale your business in Base of the Pyramid markets? Join the Inclusive Business Accelerator to promote your venture, access the mentorship marketplace and start a fundraising campaign to connect with investors

Other resources and support for entrepreneurs

The Practitioner Hub for Inclusive Business, knowledge partner of Connect, provides a wide range of practical resources and tools for inclusive business practitioners and entrepreneurs to help their ventures grow. The goal of the Hub is to support the effective implementation of inclusive business on the ground. Whether you are an enterprise looking to grow your business, or are just interested in the latest developments in the inclusive business space, the following resources will equip you with the right information. Checklists – 2-4 page documents that provide a quick and simple guides to determine how effective an idea, tool or model might be for your inclusive business project. Search Inclusive Business – the first ever database of inclusive business publications includes almost 1,400 resources useful to entrepreneurs.

Tools for partnering:

• Checklist: How to develop a partnering agreement

• Connect partnership MoU template (this is an example of an MoU that Connect supported enterprises may sign eventually with partners)

• Partnerships Know-How page: information and resources about inclusive business partnerships

Want to scale your

business in Base of the

Pyramid markets? Join

the Inclusive Business

Accelerator to promote your

venture, access the

mentorship marketplace and

start a fundraising campaign

to connect with investors.

24 | P a g e

Database of financial and technical support – A database of over 200 organisations and initiatives that provide financial and/or technical support for inclusive businesses. It acts as a ‘one-stop shop’ for information about organisations that offer critical support for businesses working at the BoP. Good practice blogs – The latest insights from entrepreneurs on the ground and key stakeholders including investors, donors and other support organisations.

Database of financial and technical support

This database contains information on organisations that offer financial and/or technical support to

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. The listing helps companies and entrepreneurs find initiatives that could provide the support they need. Focusing on organisations operating in Connect to Grow countries, it is particularly relevant for companies and entrepreneurs in our programme and those registered on the Connect Marketplace.

The database has been developed by Connect to Grow and the Practitioner Hub, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank. It includes descriptions of over 200 relevant organisations, the support they offer, where they operate, and a link to further information. Filters and keywords allow you to search the database for resources that match your specific needs. We recognise that this is not an exhaustive list and our aim is to add more organisations on a regular basis. We encourage and welcome your feedback and any suggestions of other organisations that could be included. We would also value feedback on the usefulness of this database to your work. Please have a look and get back to us!

Partnership pilot ventures

Through Connect to Grow, a number of partnership pilot ventures are underway between enterprises in India and enterprises in developing countries across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, within the Health and Agriculture sectors. The profiles below provide details about each pilot venture that Connect is supporting including information about the market opportunity, the partnership, the impact it hopes to have and the support Connect is providing.

Africa

Agriaccess

Drip irrigation, Ghana

Agromite

Mechanisation Services, Ghana

Melach

Mechanised Coconut Processing, Ghana

Nyabon

Agricultural mechanisation, Kenya

eTrash2Cash

Waste collection, Nigeria

Kings and Queens

Cassava processing mechanisation services,

Nigeria

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South Asia R&D Innovative

Solutions

Market for local produce, Nepal

THE BAZAAR

Market for local produce, Nepal

Afrilife

Honey, Tanzania

Nzua & Msigani JV

Poultry, Tanzania

Mukusu

Small scale agri-mechanisation, Uganda

Pure Products

Water ATMs, Uganda

Grain Solutions

Grain Feed Mill, Zimbabwe

Ziweto Enterprise

Poultry Vaccinations, Malawi

Masole Ammele

Aquaculture, Malawi

Insurance for All

Health insurance, Kenya

Luniva Care

Health data system, Nepal

ECO International

Sanitary napkins, Bangladesh

Greenovator

Agricultural software applications, Myanmar

Shreenagar Agricenters

Poultry feed manufacturing, Nepal